Meet the TOPS Team...

We are proud of the contributions each team member makes to our organization, and we recognize that each makes a unique contribution to the TOPS team. Click on any staff photo to learn more about them.

Leading the management of TOPS is our Founder, Tom McCauley. After graduating from the University of Denver in 1986, Tom spent the next 15 years honing his business management skills, working for Procter & Gamble in a Sales Management capacity. Although Tom has been active in TOPS since it opened its' doors in 1998, in 2001 Tom decided to leave the corporate world to devote his fulltime efforts to TOPS. Tom maintains overall responsibility for day to day operations of TOPS. He is responsible for the strategic planning and direction setting, as well as coordinating all functions of the business, such as marketing, operations, personnel and finance. Tom's prior management experience along wtih his passion for excellence brings a unique and important perspective to the TOPS business.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Not the tallest"

Favorite beverage: "Monster Energy Original (don't hate)"

Favorite place to hide: "On the lake with my boys enjoying some sunshine and watersports."

Christine Jurek, DVM, CCRT, CVA, CVC

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Christine Jurek graduated from Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1996.
While practicing general medicine (both equine and small animal), Dr. Jurek received her certification in
animal chiropractic by the
American Veterinary Chiropractic Association
. She joined TOPS in 2002, where she received her initial veterinary rehabilitation training. Since then she has successfully achieved her certification in veterinary acupuncture from the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society, as well
as her certification in canine rehabilitation from the
Canine Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Jurek is a contributing author to the 6th
Edition of the Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians. Additional veterinary interests and training of
Dr. Jurek include herbal therapy and nutrition. We're extremely pleased to have Dr. Jurek practicing at TOPS as
she brings not only a high quality approach to veterinary medicine, but also an extraordinary enthusiasm and
dedication to her work and to her clients.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Loyal"

Favorite beverage: "Mojito"

Favorite place to hide: "Lake"

Kevin Jones, DVM, CCRT, CCRP, VSMT

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kevin Jones is a graduate of Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and has been a practicing veterinarian since graduating in 1999. Dr. Jones spent his first 5 years as a general practitioner with companion animals in North and South Carolina. In 2004, he began practicing small animal rehabilitation exclusively, and became a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner through the University of Tennessee in 2006. He is also one of the few who has become certified by both rehabilitation organizations when he passed the Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist program of the Canine
Rehabilitation Institute. In 2016 he added to his credentials by becoming certified in Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy (aka animal chiropractic) from The Healing Oasis. He currently has certification pending in veterinary
acupuncture through the International Veterinary Acupuncture
Society. We couldn't be more excited for what Dr. Jones brings to TOPS in terms of skills, compassion, and dedication to his work.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Resourceful, opportunistic"

Favorite beverage: "Cherry Coke"

Favorite place to hide: "The PST Room"

Nina Pregont, DN

Nutritionist

Dr. Nina Pregont earned her B.S. in
biology from Loyola University followed by her Doctor of Naprapathy degree from National College of Naprapathic Medicine in 2012. Her areas of speciality is connective tissues and she is considered a neuromyologist. That speciality includes nutritional consulting. As far as dogs go, she has been working in the field of
small animal clinical nutrition for over twenty years. Dr. Pregont lectures, teaches, and consults on nutrition nationally. We are honored that she is working with TOPS to offer her nutritional expertise. At TOPS, she offers consults once a month for patients that would benefit
from raw, kibble, canned, or homemade diets. She can provide
excellent guidance on nutrition in general and also addresses the
nutritional needs of patients with cancer, diabetes, renal or
hepatic issues, allergies, weight problems, post-operative cases in
a recovery phase, athletic dogs, and patients in need of building
muscle.

A lifelong resident of Antioch, Debbie joined TOPS in 2001 as a therapy assistant. She brought with her a strong work ethic along with a portfolio of business and management experience that contributes to her passion for quality customer care. Debbie resides with her husand of 32 years, Andy, in Antioch with Kalee, their 14.5 year old daschund/cattle dog rescue. Over the years their home has also become a haven for many of the stray felines in the area. They have had up to 10 cats at any one time take up residence, deciding the Calin home was a more comfortable place to enjoy life than out on the street scrounging for their next meal. With half the group over 18 and the younger, still maturing, half now 3, there is never a dull moment in the Calin household.

Debbie is blessed to be Bunica (Buni) to five grandchildren. With three boys, 11-16, and two granddaughters, 3 and 1.5, her human family mirrors her fur family when it comes to energy and playfulness. When you don’t find her at TOPS she is either caring for her aging parents, or on the floor laughing and playing with her granddaughters. To keep up her own level of stamina for all this family fun, Debbie jazzercises 6-7 days a week and runs long for those causes that are passionate to her. She has successfully completed two Chicago Marathons and multiple half-marathons running in support of Oasis for Orphans, a holistic Christian orphanage in Kenya.

The hardest thing for Debbie to do is nothing. She recently asked her parents for their advice on life. Celebrating 66 years of marriage, Dad, 88 and Mom, 86, echoed “work hard, play hard”. Debbie does just that.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Living by grace"

Favorite beverage: "A Porter"

Favorite place to hide: "On a beach towel in Kauai"

Christina Coots

Client Services Leader

Christina joined TOPS in 2003, after emigrating from Leicester, England in 2002. Originally joining TOPS as a Treatment Assistant, it soon became apparent that her love for Customer Service would bring her up front. When she is not at TOPS, she lives in Camplake, WI with her husband Richard. Together they are busy remodeling their 125 yr old home. Christina has a passion for the arts. In the UK she was a member of a very successful 7 piece Soul Band playing the Alto Sax, and playing for high profile corporate clients such as British Airways, as well as popular nightclubs across the UK. Along with playing her sax she also enjoys the practice of Meditation daily and also Meditative Art. Our clients often comment on her calm demeanor at the desk, and of course that charming English accent!!!

Growing up just minutes from TOPS, Carrie joined our team as a Kennel Assistant in 2005 at the young age of just 16. Passionate about the field of rehabilitation, she set her goal of moving from the Kennel Assistant position into a position directly impacting the recovery of our patients. As such, she was promoted from her Kennel Assistant position to a Treatment Assistant position a short while later. After being in that position for a couple years, she wanted to take this one step further, and undertook the challenge of becoming certified in rehabilitation. In 2013 she achieved that goal when she passed her certification as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Assistant (CCRA) from Canine Rehabilitation Institute.
In 2016, Carrie got married to her fiance Jake. Carrie and Jake share their new house with their two dogs: Tag, pictured above, a Duck Tolling Retriever and Koa, a Black Lab.
Carrie stays pretty active when not working, during which time she finds time to enjoy recreational volleyball, boating with friends, fishing and working on their new home.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Thrifty, Sarcastic, Realistic"

Favorite beverage: "Coffee"

Favorite place to hide: "Bed"

Maureen Cullen

Client Service Coordinator

Maureen has been working at TOPS since January of 2010. Prior to coming to TOPS Maureen was a teacher for 16 years. She started out teaching junior kindergarten and kindergarten students in Crystal Lake for 12 years. Needing a change she ventured into the real estate world flipping houses until the housing market decided not to cooperate. After a trip to Europe, things became clear to her what direction she should head next. Always the animal lover, she wanted to follow what everyone says “Follow your passion and do what you love, and you will love what you do”. After some investigation, she became exposed to and enthused about the possibility of working in the rehabilitation side of veterinary medicine, which brought her to TOPS 6 years ago!
In her spare time she is back to flipping a house, this time her own. She also loves exploring new nature preserves and dog trails with her two Husky mixes: Tucker Blue and Kaiya. And when it’s time to relax you can find her two marble tabby cats, Raymond and Byron, right there with her.

Favorite place to hide: "Anywhere by the water...the beach, lake, river or pond.l"

Brittany Laudick

Treatment Specialist

We first met Brittany when her family dog, Ace, needed rehab due to paralysis from an autoimmune deficiency. Ace came to us on a stretcher, and after intensive therapy, was back running, jumping and playing again. It was Ace's experience that turned Brittany's eyes towards rehab, and we couldn't be happier to have found her! Brittany has been with TOPS nearly 6 years now, and in her own words, "it is my passion to help animals in any way possible...I love what I do!"

Born and raised in Woodstock, Brittany also spent much time in the Lake Geneva area with her grandparents. In 2014 she married her best friend Josh, whom she first met at age 17, and added a beautiful baby daughter Grace, in 2015.
Aside from their newborn Grace, Brittany and Josh also have 2 German Shepherds (7 year old Gibson and 2 year old Kuno) as well as a 3 year old cat named Binx.

Allison joined TOPS as a Doctor’s Assistant and Administrative Assistant. While this is her first job in the veterinary field it’s not her first rodeo when it comes to working with dogs. Since she was little she’s had a love of working with animals of all shapes and sizes. Allison worked with a wildlife rehabilitator and helped get baby raccoons, squirrels, bunnies, and possums back on their feet and into the wild. From there she honed her skills as a trainer and groomer, working with many people and learning from their experiences.

Currently Allison owns two border collies and a German shepherd, all of which are working dogs and compete in a variety of sports. As a hobby she does pet photography and loves capturing the perfect moment. On most days, you won't find her far from her camera or her dogs. You can check out her photography page by clicking here.

Allison has been a great addition to our team. Her calm demeanor, both with clients and patients, and dedication to doing things right are a great asset for us. We are sure those of you or your clients that have met her will agree!

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Might be crazy."

Favorite beverage: "Raspberry Iced Tea"

Favorite place to hide: "In a good book."

Michelle Allen

Doctor's Assistant / Treatment Assistant

Michelle grew up in locally and has spent her entire life in this area. As a child, she grew up spending much of her time watching Steve Irwin (a.k.a “The Crocodile Hunter”) and admiring his respect for animals and wildlife. After graduating high school she spent time working in the Cosmetology business, but after two years in this business she realized she belonged following her passion working with animals. That led her into TOPS and from there it was an obvious fit for us.

Outside of her work, Michelle enjoys fishing, shooting, painting, eating (her words not ours), working out and training her German Shepherd Dog Maisy.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Unique. Loving. Creative."

Favorite beverage: "Starbucks"

Favorite place to hide: "My bed with my dog Maisy"

Kate Kalis

Doctor's Assistant

Having grown up in the Seattle area, and after a 19 year career in the financial services industry, Kate relocated to the Chicago area in 2009 where she was working in the transportation brokerage industry. Like her co-workers, Kate has always had a passion for animals, which brought her to TOPS in October of 2017. She resides with her two dogs and two cats: Gage, a male Llewellin Setter; Kindle, a female Dutch Shepherd; ChubChub, a Ragdoll cat; and Ben, a feral rescue and short hair black beauty! Gage, who keeps busy working as a therapy dog, has visited well over 400 patients in hospital settings since 2011, with a specialty of working with hospice patients. Kindle, along with Kate, is part of Illinois Task Force 1, working as a Canine Search Specialist since 2012.

What you might be surprised to find out about Kate is that while in the Seattle area she was licensed to road race cars at the national level, and was considering becoming a high performance driving coach prior to her move to IL. Kate also has a passion for the equestrian sport of dressage and a passion for music. She loves to learn new things and make a positive difference in the lives of people and animals.

Describe yourself in 3 words or less: "Focused, Caring, Silly"

Favorite beverage: "Green Tea"

Favorite place to hide: "Within myself"

Amy Hausman

Flexible Resource

A lifelong resident of the Lake County area, Amy grew up in Antioch alongside her two sisters. As a working mother to a 4 year old daughter, you can imagine she spends much of her time in that capacity. But like any good veterinary industry employee, she has a crew of pets at home to add to her responsibilities: Newton an 11 year old Black Lab, Trapper, a 13 year old Red Lab, and two Domestic Shorthaired cats, Thomas and Captain.

An avid fan of Star Wars and Harry Potter, Amy also finds time to collect records (yes the vinyl kind) with over 500 in her collection, riding her Kawasaki motorcycle, and volunteering for DNR crane counting, frog counting, and helping with invasive species management.

Amy is currently working at TOPS as a Client Service Coordinator in a fill-in capacity. We never know when she's going to show up, but it's always a nice surprise to see here here when one of our regulars is out!

The son of our founders, Zach is currently a senior at Grayslake North High School, and serving in both a Doctor's Assistant and Maintenance capacity. His future plans as a Mechanical Engineer serve him well in that capacity. Zach is passionate at figuring out how things work, and coming up with ways to make them work better. He keeps busy during the school year with not only his courseload but also as a 4 year varsity wrestler. After his wrestling season ends, he quicklky shifts gears and turns to the water, where he spends as much time as possible wakeboarding with family and friends. As a young wakeboarder, Zach was crowned World Champion in the Beginner Boys division. Outside of these interests, as a classic car enthusiast, he still seems to find time to enjoy working on and upgrading his car.